I,AXGUAGE OF COLOCRS A3IOXGST THE ZULUS.
159
Language of Colours amongst the Zulus expressed
by their Bead-work Ornaments; and some
General Notes on their Personal Adornments
and Clothing.
By
Rev. Fathcl' Fl'allz JlaYl'.
With Plate XXVII.
AT the suggestion of Dr. ,Varren, Director of the Natal
Government )Iuseum, I propose to place before the reader a
few notes on the pert'ional ornaments used by Zulus, especially
with reference to the meanings assigned to the variously
coloured beads which are ):'0 generally used in certain of their
adornments.
Before speaking of the bead-work ornaments, now very
freely uRed by the Zulus in adorning their dusky bodies, it
,yill be interesting to indicate the kind of ornaments that
were formerly used before the advent of beads.
1.
Previous to the arrival of the white man nature supplied
the Zulu with the materials for the following articles of
ornament;
(1) For adorning the head the Zulu man uses the wellknown head-ring (1Ricoco). Sewing fibre (uzi), obtained
from the bast of the wild fig alld certain other trees, is
twisted to form a circlet, which is sewn into the woolly hall'.
VOL.
1,
PAR'f
2.
12
LANGUAGE 01" COLOURS A)[QXGST THE ZUI~US.
161
would be similarly threaded. '1:he powder was prepared
from various scented plants, ,vhich were dried and pulverised,
and kneaded into balls.
The single brass ball (indolldo) is no longel' seen; but
the circlet of scented balls (amaka) and the necklet of
little sticks (ubande) of the scented umtomboti tree are
still in use.
(3) For adorning the arms and legs the young men used
the bushy ends of cattle tails (amatshoba), which werp
fastened above the elbows and below the knees.
As in
the case of the ostrich feathers, the varions regiments were
distinguished by the colour of the tails-white, black, brown,
etc. Boys and girls satisfied themselves with grass wristlets
and anklets, bnt princesses wel'e obliged to wear heavy brass
rings around the wrists and ankles (umnaka or ubedu),
similar to those worn as necklets, only they were simple rings
without spiral turns.
(4) Lastly, for covering and adorning the body grass belts
(izifociya) were used, besides strips of skin of bncks or
domestic animals.
Married women used formerly, as at the present time, the
short petticoat (isi d wa ba) of goat- or ox-skin.
Men wore the loin-dress (umutsha), consisting of bushy
tails in frout (isinene) aud a square or oblong piece of axor buck-skin behind (ibetshu). In place of the bushy tails
strips of buck-skin were often used.
Grown-up girls clothed themselves with the u bOlldhle,
which was a fringed loin-covering encircling the body. It was
made from the veld plant G a zania I ongisca pa.
Witch-doctors were distinguished by their iminqwambi,
which were strips of skin worn over the shoulders, and
fastened together at the middle, before and behind, something
like a pair of braces.
For the great umkosi, the Zulu killg's annual festival, thp
warriors wore the state dress, consisting of three girdles or
kilts of ox-tails. One was worn low down over the buttock .. ,
another above the hips, a,nd the third over the shoulders. In
162
REY. FA'fHER FRAXZ )IAYR.
this way the body was entirely covered from neck to knee.
This state dress was called imiqubula.
II.
From the brief account given above we see that there has
always been a great variety of different dresses and ornaments, distinguishing royalty, warriors, witch-doctors, and
common folk; b11t when the European brought glittering
coloured beads the sympathy of the Zulu was at once aroused,
and he founcl a new field for his imagination and skill.
Beads were first IJrought by the Portugese, then by the
Dutch, and now by the English. The natives show very considerable skill and taste in making ornaments and designing
patterns. There are estahlished colours and kinds of beads in
use among the Zulus, amI they will not look at any other kinds,
however pretty they may he, which are not established by
traditi011al use. Trader" soon discover this peculiarity, and
take care to only ha ve in stock the kinds of beads and colours
which are liked by the natives.
The natives ha,'e given pacll colour of beads a specialllame
and meaning; alld tlw'y haye invented a kind of language of
colour, whereby they cun cOllvey tlleir thoughbo; from 0110 to
another without speaking. How this is done will hest he
explained by reference to the illustrations of head work given
in the plate (PI. XXVII) attached to this paper; but I will
first give a list of the names and literal meanings of the
different coloured beads:
White beads
ita In h 0 (lit. bone).
Black beads
= isitimane (name of a regiment
formed by }Ipancle; also, nick-name
for a very black person).
Blue bpads
= ij n ba (lit. dove).
Red beads
= nmgazi (from igazi, blood).
Yellow beads
incombo (lit. young Kafir-corn still
yellow) or i p u z i (lit. bright yellow
native pumpkin).
LANGUAGE OF COLOURS A)fONGST THE ZULUS.
Green beads
Striped beads
Pink beads
163
= ubuhlalu obuluhlaza (from uluhlaza, new grass).
= in totoviyane (lit. large striped
grasshopper) .
u buhlal u a bu mpofu (from impofu,
poor, poverty).
Transparent brown
beads
= umlilwana (lit. a low fire).
Dark blue beads
= inkankane (lit. Common Ibis).
Large-sized beads of
any colour
= amapohlo or amaqanda (amaqanda means eggs).
Anyone uninitiated in the secret meaning of the different
beads, and seeing, for example, a number of white bead"
followed by a few red, green, blue, and black, and then again
white, red, green, blue, and black in the same succession and
the same number of each kind of bead, might think that the
arrangement was simply for the sake of ornament and symmetry. But a kraal-native would say it was a letter, and
would call it so, i.e. incwadi, or better, ubala abuyise,
which means "aIle writes in order that the other should
reply." In this wayan uneducated Zull1 girl will present her
sweetheart with an u bala a buyise, and will expect his visit
in return.
A variety of different bead ornaments are used as letters in
this way, the ohief of which are illustrated in the accompanying plate.
Fig. 1, ingeje, a single bead
Pig. 2, umampapeni, one square of beads with one 01'
more bead strings.
Fig. 3, ulimi (lit. tongue), one long oblong piece of beadwork with one or more bead strings.
Fig. 4, igoagcane, a neoklet consisting of a number of
connected small squares of bead work.
These illustrations are taken from actual specimens in the
Natal Government Museum, and the colours represent, as nearly
as possible, the favourite shades established by custom.
164
REV. FATHER FRANZ }lAYR.
The simplest form of ubala abuyise, or letter, is an
ingeje, or single bead string (fig. 1), consisting of only two
kinds of beads. In this specimen one half of the string consists of white beads, and the other half of pink. 'Ilhe meaning of this would be, that the girl's heart is full of love (white
beads), but she tells her lover by the same number of pink
beads that his poverty is as
as her love towards him.
'rhis implies, of course, an earnest appeal to him to work hard
in order to get the cattle for the lob 0 I a, or payment, necessary to buy her from her father or guardian.
To express wealth yellow beads are used.
The remaining figures in the plate represent more complicated letters; and a succession of white, red, green, blue
and black beads, for example, would be interpreted in the
following w<~y :
Inhliziyo yami. ilIlhlope ngezinsuku e:r.ikude (expressed by the numerous white beads). Kodwa sen
kubeke, amehlo ami az'abomvu (red beads). Nang'ubala abuyise, kepa sengizacile ngaza nga'luhlaza
(green beads). Uma bengi 1 ijuba, bengizaundiza
ngiyocotsha emyango kwenn (blue beads). Ngivinjelwe ubumnyama ngingeze ngaya kuwe (black beads}.
Kodwa inhliziyo yami imhlope, etc. (white beads-the
same story is repeated again and again).
The Zulu idiom can never be expressed in English, and
in a translation the letter loses much of its force; but it
would run in some such fashion as the following. My heari;
is pure and white in the long weary days (white beads). My
eyes are sore and red by looking out for you so long (red
beads). Nang'ubal'abuyise = here is my letter to you. I
have become quite lean and sickly (green beads). If I were
a dove I would fly to your home and pick up food at your
door (blue beads). Darkness prevents my coming to you
(black beads). But my heart is pure, etc., etc., and the
whole message would be repeated several times.
The actual pattern does not appear to have any defined
sig'nificance; it is rather the succession of colour, and the
LAXGFAGE m' COLOeRS A)!OXGRT THE zrLUH.
165
relative amount::; of the different colours, that express the
tenor of the message.
In reading a letter of the umampapelli (fig. 2) and
u Ii m i (fig. 8) types, the string which passes round the neck,
beginning at the £a,:tening, is taken first; and on the wholt'
the "h'illg has the greater significance. In the case of the
square and oblong piece the letter would be read from
without inwards, but the edging or border is £01' the sake of
Ol'namt'nt simply, and, as a rule, has no special meaning. In
a string the number of succes:,;ively placed yellow beads
may indicate the number of cattle owned by the recipient of
the letter.
Having thus obtained a key to the meanings assigned to
the colours, it is an easy matter to interpret any of theHc
epistles; and it may suffice to say that the Zulu lad is very
proud of them, and hangs them all round his neck and head
in order to show everyone how much he is loved by one or
a number of girls.
EXPLANATION OF PLATg XXVII,
Illustrating Rev. Father ~Iayr's paper, " Language of Colours
amongst the Zulus, etc."
The illustrations are reduced to five-eighths of the actual size.
FIG. 1.-Ingeje. The tenor of the letter is that the girl realises that
the man is poor (pink), and she asks him to work for cattle, as she is in
love (white) with him.
FIG. 2.-U mam pap eni. The purport of the letter is that the
recipient is well to do (yellow), and the girl is weeping (red) on account
of his not going to her.
FIG.3.-Ulimi. The general tone is that the girl is greatly in love
(numerous white beads), and she thinks the man is sufficiently rich
(yellow) to marry her. The blue border at the bottom is pure ornamentation, without special significance.
FIG. 4.-Igcagcane. The general tone is somewhat distressing.
The girl is fond of the boy (white), yet there is difficulty in going to him
(black), as he is poor (pink), and consequently she feels lean and sickly
(green).
PLXXVII
Ann Natal G Mus . VoLl.
'.
Fig. 4. x 5/8
Fig. 1 x ~8
Adlal."ci & Son